cooking @ home

Before we even begin, it seems that old Churchill adage comes up again: “two countries divided by a common language”. Seems the term barbecuing means different things in different places.

So you know what this particular article is about, we’re talking the US version, namely, according to Wikipedia: “In US English usage, however, grilling refers to a fast process over high heat whilst barbecuing refers to a slow process using indirect heat and/or hot smoke. For example, in a typical US home ‘grill’, food is cooked on a grate directly over hot charcoal; while in a US ‘barbecue’, the coals are dispersed to the sides or at significant distance from the grate.”

Since you’re no doubt curious, now what it means in the UK: “In British English usage, barbecuing refers to a fast cooking process directly over high heat, whilst grilling refers to cooking under a source of direct, high heat – known in the US and Canada as broiling.” Below is a chart I made up to simplify matters. Btw, I had thought the UK did not have any “real BBQ” until a friend told me some folks do there, and that they call it “California” barbecue.

Fine, with that now out of the way, this here initially started out as a short “pre-article” or “back story” to one of my recipes, in fact to the first BBQ recipe on my site. But as I wrote and then continued writing, I realized this would much better serve as a general BBQ and smoking primer that all the following and future BBQ recipes could also be sent.

This is your introduction into the world of BBQing. That is not grilling. That is not tossing BBQ sauce slathered on a chicken breast for 10 minutes and saying done. We’re talking big time, real thing, testosterone-infested, thick, quality slabs of meat, men-from-the-boys (and ladies-from-the-girls), slow-cooking, indirect-cooking and smokin’, my friends. Even if you know BBQing, I’m sure there might be something here for you to think about.

Is Mine Big Enough?

Is an “average grill” big enough for smoking? Good question, tough answer. If an average grill is a medium round one, maybe. How shallow or deep is it? Yours doesn’t have to be a big long rectangle or “barrel” one. A significantly deep and/or large round one can be enough. This is how you know for sure:

For BBQing and smoking, you need enough room in your grill to have the food take up space with no coals beneath, plus (the rest of the remaining room) there to be enough space to fill with coals and get the amount of heat required. You see, this is going to be indirect-heating. So a large rectangular or barrel grill no problem. A large round Weber type one, again no problem. A medium or small grill, there might be a problem. The food will be on the top level or cooking grate (or grill) with a drip pan beneath it and no coals. Next to it, the top cooking grate will be empty, and beneath it on the charcoal grate will be enough charcoal to heat the entire grill up to the temperatures required.

Note I’m not mentioning a gas grill. I know the folks in Arlen, Texas and Hank Hill especially will consider this blasphemy, but I don’t do propane (and propane accessories). If you do, fine. As propane gas grills only tend to come in “large butt” size and since you don’t use charcoal, smoking and indirect-heating won’t be a problem for you.

Also some gas grills come with a separate smoker chamber. So do the larger charcoal ones, either as a part of it or as an additional attachment.

Understanding “Cooking Time”

In one of my recipes I say: “2.5 hours of cooking time should do it.” Stop right there. Read that again. Those words seem deceptively simple. They are – that is they are not simple, they are deceptive. A precise understanding of those words “cooking time” is essential. And so we go to football. The American one.

How many minutes in a football game’s quarter? 15 minutes. And four quarters to the game. How long does a football game actually run? Riiiight … 3 to 3.5 hours. Now you know where I am going with this concept of “cooking time”; it’s a lot like the amount of “playing time” on the field clock where the game itself takes longer.

Do not start counting until you have two things: a temperature of at the very least 180*F, and it should then climb up to between 220 and 240. And, also don’t count until you first see the smoke is so thick inside the covered grill that you see it wisping out of the crevices. It is when you have these two items at the same time that you can start counting.

This part is trickier. As you should only see wisps of smoke at the start of cooking and in the middle of that particular packet of chips, lack of smoke does not necessarily mean stop counting. But sometimes it does. If your temperature drops below 180, you do stop counting for positive though. Remember every time you open up the lid of your BBQ you will be letting out smoke and for every two minutes, lose about 50 degrees temperature. This is why, you may put the lid back down, and see the heat at 150, starting to rise back to the 220-240 area. And when that happens you don’t start counting again until you see it passing the 180 mark.

Changing It Up

As mentioned you’re going to need to “change things up” now and again. As this is a long cook, be prepared to add additional hot coals probably twice, and a new packet of chips at least once. This means you need a mechanism, such as a purchased or home-made chimney starter. When you do, that, open the BBQ lid quickly, get it done as fast as you can. Why? As said before, you will lose some smoke, but definitely heat as well. For a more accurate time-keeping, you probably should suspend your counting for about 5-10 minutes, until the heat inside (and smoke) gets back up to where it was.

Baste your sauce after the two hours of cooking time (not real time) is up, about every 10 or 15 minutes (that’s in real time) towards the end of the cooking, and up to you if you want one more right as you’re taking them off the grill). By now you’re wonder what the real time will be. Depends on a lot of factors but about the same as a football game, about three hours. More if you drop the ball and let the temperature get too low, don’t change the smoke packet at the right time, or (don’t do this) keep opening the lid too much. In which case, it will be closer to three and a half hours.

Smoke Packets and Chimneys

Touching on smoke packets. I like Rob Rainford’s method the best. Aluminum foil. Then two parts wet chips that have been soaking for 30-60 minutes and one part dry chips. Wrap them into the foil as a rectangular pouch. Poke holes all through them with your fork. Make sure the dry side goes atop the coals. I start out with two of those. Later, during the cook, I replace them. Sometimes both, sometimes one.

As for the chimney smoker, it’s definitely worth purchasing one if you intend to do real BBQ. At the start and middle of the season (summer) they can be as much as thirty bucks. Get one off-season as I did and you get it for seven, that’’s right, seven bucks. Now, maybe you don’t want to buy one first off, or maybe you’ve misplaced yours over the winter, ok maybe you just like handmade … well you can make one for yourself if you really want to or need to do so. Take a aluminum coffee can, the large one, and with a can opener to the part of the opener one uses to make pouring holes, make triangles across the top and bottom. With a screwdriver or something poke some small holes in the middle. Place on a rock, something that won’t burn nor singe. Put in crumbled newspaper and then coals and try to light from the top and bottom (now you understand the air holes.)

Some folks say don’t use charcoal lighter fluid, you’ll taste it. Myself I’ve never tasted it, and the coals don’t usually start for me without some. So if you can forgo the fluid or light on it, cool. If you need to use it, use it.

You Need Thermometers

I hate it when I watch a cooking show and the chef or cook has some sophisticated piece of equipment I don’t and bases everything on that. I do understand though, when you get into cooking you really get into cooking and that’s why they have the cool toys you don’t. With me, I have one great “luxury” and that’s my giant charcoal grill and BBQ. And one of the best things on it is the thermometer that’s embedded on the outside and tells me the internal temperature. I just can do so many things with that, I love it.

Now, you DO need a thermometer. Of some kind. You really should have one for the temperature inside of your grill. Smaller units don’t have these. In which case, get yourself a candy or deep fry oil thermometer and use that to the best of your ability. You most definitely need an internal (inside the meat, not the oven or grill) thermometer. That is a must. And knowing the internal temp of the grill is needed too. I know, I do hate to insist on equipment, but really it’s so difficult to do a job without the right tools, and in this case BBQing ribs is a job, a project, and something that let’s you check the internal kettle temperature and meat temperature really are required.

However, there are two ways if you really don’t have a therm, or you just stubbornly refuse to get one. There is of course, looks. Which can be deceiving, but with enough practice, looks and often touch can tell you doneness. However here’s the big, cool tip: When you pick the rack them up at the middle with tongs, and the ribs give a bowing that’s past a U shape and more of C shape (in other words, past a simple 180 degrees (of inclination not temperature), the ends start going in somewhat towards touching each other, that’s when you know you are either done, or you getting towards done.

These two methods said, however, if you get food poisoning, it’s not on me. Sorry to end with a bummer moment, but as said, you come to job, you bring the right tools. Period.

In the second part of this article, we’ll talk about rubs, mops and sauces, different types of wood chips, cooking and cleanup utensils and some fun accessories.

Big Green Egg 1 1/2 lb. Jack Daniels Barrel Wood Chips Bag – 00020 (By:-Big Green Egg, BigGreen Egg) 1 1/2 lb Jack Daniels Barrel Wood Chips Bag

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